The Fear of the Unknown
by WaterLilyXx
Summary: Prev. titled "Innocence." Anna Rothban is the cousin of Embry Call. She and her family move to La Push for a stress-free life, not knowing that Forks is known by the locals as the hub of the Supernatural. After discovering her cousin's true lifestyle and meeting Jacob Black, her entire world begins to change. Anna is in danger; so who can help her? Jacob/OC. Fast-paced!
1. Prologue

Grimacing in pain, my trembling fingers tried to grab the branch above me. My heart was racing in my chest; my breathing was ragged, and my brain was swimming with information. My muscles ached completely from the running. I wish I could say that it was just fear coursing through my veins, but it was much, much more than that. I was absolutely terrified.

"Climb, Anna!" I heard my cousin shout from below me, his body trembling as a growl left his lips. The sight frightened me even more; it was as if his bones were shifting beneath his skin "You need to get to safety!"

Subconsciously, I knew how much trouble I would be in if I didn't climb a little higher. My arms somehow managed to grab the branch above me, and I hauled my shaking body up into the trees' canopy. Wrapping my arms around the trunk, I looked down just in time to see Embry running into the dark, leafy forest.

The past forty-eight hours had been a complete blur. As I sat against the tree trunk almost twenty feet in the air, I could hear the sounds of snarling wolves all around me. My head throbbed with the new information it had learned in the last two days; firstly, that my cousin Embry was a shapeshifter. Not only that, but there were all sorts of supernatural creatures in the world – or more specifically, in Forks. I had met my first Vampire that evening, and Embry had been in the middle of explaining everything when all of a sudden, a shiver ran down his spine. His head whipped around, and one word came out in a snarl: "Run."

We ran.

As I sat in my tree, I became suddenly aware that the air felt different around me. The breeze had stopped and the leaves were no longer rustling. I was about to turn around when I felt an iron hand gripping me around the neck, pulling me backwards.

"Are you hiding from me?" The silky voice whispered in my ear. I closed my eyes.

My name is Anna Rothban, and this is the story of how my life changed forever.


	2. Chapter 1

My shoulders ached as I put down the last heavy brown box in what would be my new bedroom. I raised my arms above my head, attempting to stretch them out, and a pleasurable shiver ran down my spine as my muscles seemed to relax. A soft sigh escaped my lips as I crossed the room, carefully opening the balcony doors.

The view from my new home was stunning. My parents had found a house right on the beach front that no-one had lived in for almost ten years. With their new jobs – and significantly higher pay checks – we quickly moved into the four bedroom, three bathroom beach house. It was a big step up from our old place; a small bungalow in a quiet part of the city of Seattle. My father was offered a private position in La Push as a physician, and my mother was able to find a secure new job as a teacher at my new high school. I thought about the significance of all of this as I watched the waves hit against the rocks some way away. I had been begging some higher power for the past few months to give me a new start; a new school, new friends... and it had finally happened. What's more, we had moved closer to my mother's sister, and therefore I wouldn't be alone. We were around family, and we would finally be happy here.

Or so I thought.

I was starting to unpack one of my boxes when a voice interrupted my daydream. "Anna, your cousin is here!" My father called from downstairs. I closed the balcony doors quietly before carefully walking downstairs. I had discovered on a previous trip that our new house had some tricky floorboards; especially on the staircase. I skipped the splintered one that I had almost fallen through just an hour before, and sauntered through the kitchen towards the lounge.

I hadn't seen my cousin in almost five years, but he had certainly grown in that period of time. While we were both the same age – only born five days apart - I stood at a measley five-foot-five while Embry was easily six-feet-four.

"You've grown since the last time I saw you," I laughed, standing on the tips of my toes to hug him.

"You... may have gotten smaller," he said frowning. "How tall are you? Four feet?"

"Five-foot-four, loser," I grinned, nudging him. "You're too late to help unpack the truck, anyway. Dad and I already did it."

"Crap, I'm sorry," Embry sighed sincerely. "I had... somewhere to be. I'm still technically supposed to be at that somewhere, but I figured I'd swing by and see you. I'll be back tomorrow to show you around La Push – you can get to know some people before we start back on Monday."

Monday. I sighed inwardly, trying to smile on the outside. Two days until I started at a new school. Nervous wasn't even the word. "That sounds good. Thank you," I smiled, following Embry as he headed towards the door. "A tour guide will come in useful seeing as I have no idea where anything is in this town."

Embry chuckled under his breath. "You'll figure it out quickly, Anna Banana." He nudged me playfully, and I winced.

"Never call me that again. I'll see you tomorrow."

By eleven o'clock that evening, I was curled up in bed. The day had been long, and I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open. As I lay in bed, my muscles relaxing and seemingly sinking into the matress, I let out a satisfied sigh. My new home was beautiful. My family were together again for the first time since Embry and I were very young, and the prospect of a new school and new friends didn't phase me like it should have. I was carefree.

Little did I know that feeling wouldn't last a day.

My family were awoken that night by loud banging on the front door. I sat up immediately, my brain slowly piecing together what was happening. By the time I had gotten out of bed and opened my bedroom door, I could see my father talking to someone in the front porch. I only had to descend a few steps before I realised it was Embry, and he was covered in blood.

My father turned to me. "Anna, I need my kit," he said simply. I looked at him puzzled. "Now!" he barked. I didn't have to be told twice; I ran to the upstairs hall closet and grabbed my dad's medical kit. All the while I could hear Embry, dad and another man talking downstairs in hushed voices. I stopped just briefly to pick up a sweater, and quickly ran downstairs to give my father what he needed.

On closer inspection, Embry was not only covered in blood, but mud too. His friend – who was introduced to me as Quil – was the same. They were both naked from the waist up, and were in deep discussion with my dad. He turned to me after a few minutes.

"Anna, I'm going to need you to come with me."

Embry shook his head. "No way, Billy will-"

"Billy will understand that I need an extra pair of hands!" Dad told Embry, whose brow furrowed for a second.

"Okay, fine," he finally agreed, "but this needs to be kept hush-hush."

I nodded quickly, showing my willingness to never speak of this to anyone. A shiver of fear ran down my spine as I got into the passenger seat of my dad's truck, Embry and Quil taking up the back seats. I could smell dirt and sweat. I was thankful that no-one could smell my fear.

"I'll need a little more information once we get inside, boys," My father stated simply, turning off the ignition. He turned in his chair, eyes on my cousin. "How many are there?"

"Two," Quil began. "The blo- I mean, Mr Cullen is out of town. He usually deals with these things."

My father nodded, turning to me. "Two of Embry's friends were involved in an accident. I don't want you to worry when you see them – all I need from you is for you to keep bringing sterile bandages and warm water, OK Anna?"

"Yes, Dad." I nodded back, quickly getting out of the car. The path to the front door of the house was extremely muddy; there had been some rain, and it looked as though a herd of elephants had trampled up to the house in the last few hours.

I followed my father into the house, not quite prepared for what I was about to witness.


	3. Chapter 2

The house was in chaos.

I would never dare say that I knew what it was like to be involved in a war, but with the amount of blood and shouting that was happening at that moment… well, it was the only thing I could possibly liken it to.

The sound inside was deafening. There were at least ten different voices shouting over each other expecting to be heard. I didn't particularly know where to look; the group of boys in front of me were mostly covered in blood. Mud had spattered their dark skin.

"What on earth…" I began to say, barely able to hear myself speak over the noise. I felt Embry push in behind me, immediately clearing a space among the shouting, angry boys for my dad and me to sit down. The shouting continued as though we weren't there and I had just clapped my hands over my ears when an even louder voice drifted over the group of boys in front of me, causing each and every one of them to be quiet.

"Shut [i]up![/i]" the voice commanded. I looked up at my father, who did not seem surprised. It was only when everyone sat down that I saw a man in a wheelchair across the other side of the room. "Those of you who do not require the services of Dr Rothban can head straight over to Sam and Emily's," the man said, his tone important and authorative. Nobody moved.

"But…" one boy began.

"Now." The man said quickly, cutting him off immediately. They didn't have to be told twice; the living room emptied quickly, leaving just me, my father, Embry, and the man I did not know.

"Billy," my dad said tentatively, shaking the man's hand. "Please show me to the casualty."

"Of course, Michael, right this way," Billy replied. "Embry, perhaps you can show Anna where to find the towels and fetch a basin of hot water."

Embry nodded, leading me away from dad and Billy. I followed him down a long, narrow corridor to what I assumed was the airing cupboard. My suspicious were confirmed when my cousin opened the door, pulling out two scrappy looking towels and some rags. He handed them to me carefully.

"What on earth is going on?" I finally found the courage to ask. Embry's shoulders sagged slightly as he closed the door again, but we didn't move.

"I can't… We… We were attacked." Embry's tone was more casual than I would have liked.

"You mean you were assaulted? All of you? By who?"

A small laugh left his lips, quickly replaced by a grimace as he held his side. "We weren't assaulted. Attack was definitely the right word." His eyes lowered to the pile of towels in my hands, and he began to walk down the corridor back to where my Dad and Billy had disappeared.

"I don't understand," I said frowning, following him.

"You're not supposed to," Embry said simply, stopping outside a door I had not yet seen. A yelp of pain came from inside, and I looked up at him worried. "It's…"

"Don't you dare say that it's 'complicated!'" I said exasperatedly. "One of you had better tell me what's going on…"

"Anna, can we get those towels in here, please?" My dad called from inside the room. I scowled at Embry. "Go and get that water, and be prepared to tell me what's going on very, very soon."

I opened the door as Embry disappeared around the corner. The sight that met me in the small, dimly lit bedroom was not a pleasant one.

A young boy was lying on the bed below the open window. His face was covered with sweat and dried blood, and he seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness. The boy's torso was bound with bandages; I could only assume that it was this injury that was causing him the most pain.

"Thank you, Anna," my dad murmured, taking one of the rags from me and dipping it in a bucket of cold water that sat beside the bed. "Can you hold this to his forehead, please?" he asked quietly, nodding a silent 'Thank you' to Embry as he appeared with the hot water.

I nodded silently, watching my dad go to work. Medicine had always interested me; I would even go as far as to say that I would love to follow in his footsteps – but I had never had a chance to watch my dad work. He was quick and precise; his examination was careful yet detailed, and conversation between him and Billy seemed to flow seamlessly as though they were simply having coffee. It stayed like that for roughly thirty minutes, before his eyes met mine once more.

"We'll be back in a second. Try and keep Seth cool, Anna," he smiled, opening the door for Billy. It seemed that a silent communication had passed between them in the room, and the men stepped outside to talk, leaving just Embry, myself and the injured boy whose name I now knew.

"So, his name is Seth?" I asked Embry jokingly, removing the rag to re-soak it in the cold water.

"It sure is," a weak voice managed from beside me. I jumped in shock, almost knocking over the bucket. A gentle laugh left Seth's lips before he winced in pain.

"I'm sorry!" I gasped, quickly trying to collect myself. "You surprised me!"

Embry chuckled. "How do you feel?" He asked Seth, edging closer to his bed.

"Rough," Seth replied honestly, beginning to sit up. "I'll be okay, though."

"I think you've broken a couple of ribs, at least," I told him, gently holding onto his arm as he righted himself. An unexpected grin crossed his face.

"I finally broke Jake's record!" Seth laughed gleefully. Embry quickly joined in while I looked on completely stumped. Finally, their laughter alerted Billy and my dad to the fact that Seth was awake. They both smiled.

"You'll be fine in a couple of days, Seth," Billy said calmly. "You'll be out of action until you're fully healed."

That comment made Seth scowl.

"They _need _me!" he moaned, wincing as he lay back down again.

My dad must have witnessed the confusion on my face then, because he made our excuses to leave at that moment. I followed him out, stopping at the door for a moment before turning back to Seth. "I hope you feel better really soon, Seth," I smiled, before closing it behind me as quietly as I could.

The serenity of the lounge was very welcome at that moment. I sat down in one of the comfortable looking armchairs in the corner, sighing deeply. I could hear muted voices coming from what I assumed was the kitchen – dad and Billy – and silence from Seth's room. The armchair I had situated myself in was becoming more comfortable by the second, and I curled up into a ball, c losing my eyes.

"Anna?"

My eyes shot open. My dad chuckled, holding his hand out for me to take. "It's time for us to leave."

I yawned, getting up from the chair. It must have been early in the morning, because I could hear birds chirping happily from an old oak in the garden. A quick survey of the room told me that we were alone, yet I had no energy to ask the questions that my mind demanded be asked. Silently, I followed my father out to the car, getting into the passenger seat.

The drive home was quick, and neither of us spoke, but many things had become apparent in a short space of time. The first was that the quiet senior year I had hoped to have would not be happening. Seth had mentioned he had 'broke Jake's record' – whoever that was – which implied that kind of thing happened [I] a lot.[/i] The second was that we were brought to La Push for a reason, which was as yet unknown to me. It was far too convenient that my dad was on hand after the accident. Where was the doctor that normally treated these kinds of injuries? Why not just take them to a hospital and have them treated there?

These thoughts continued as I c limbed the staircase and got back into bed. This town and the people in it were a mystery to me, and we had only been here less than twenty-four hours. I was still thinking about the strangeness of LaPush when I fell into a blissful sleep.


End file.
